Purple Heart: Warrior receives overdue medal

Jim A. Upshaw pats the Purple Heart he pinned on his son, Staff Sgt. James C. Upshaw, during a ceremony on the Mountain Post, March 12, 2014. James Upshaw received the medal for wounds he suffered in Iraq in 2005. (Photo by Mike Howard)

By Mike Howard

Special to the Mountaineer

The young infantryman had a perforated left eardrum and injuries he had no idea about after driving his Stryker vehicle into an improvised explosive device ambush. But still, he could not endure the sound of his team leader, lying in the nearby hospital bed screamed in pain from a compound-fractured leg.

So Staff Sgt. James C. Upshaw snuck out of the field hospital. It was only hours after the two, along with 12 other American Soldiers — were injured in the Sept. 26, 2005, blast near Mosul, Iraq. On his fifth attempt to get away from the unbearable noise, he finally made it to quiet.

His first sergeant found him and convinced the doctors to allow the unit medics to watch over the Soldier. The next morning, Upshaw returned to his duties with the 3rd Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, from Grafenwoehr, Germany. By so doing, he missed out on receiving the Purple Heart he deserved.

That matter was corrected earlier this month during a Purple Heart ceremony on the Mountain Post, when his father, Jim Upshaw, pinned the award onto his chest. The ceremony, hosted by James Upshaw’s new unit, the Warrior Transition Battalion, was held at the Special Events Center, March 12, 2014.

“I couldn’t be in better hands,” James Upshaw said in his remarks — speaking of his Family, friends and leaders in the battalion.

“Thanks to my father. Through all that has happened, he has never let me forget I am loved and never alone. A very special thank you to my wonderful wife, Bridget. She puts up with me more than I could. She has had to deal with the symptoms of my injuries. Without her, I would truly be lost.”

The award is bittersweet to recipients, said guest speaker Richard Sanchez. He is a retired sergeant first class who also received a Purple Heart.

“It is (a) fraternity or brotherhood that we didn’t exactly ask to be part of — and the events that introduced us into this brotherhood were probably the worst moments of our lives. But it is also something we are proud of.

“Sergeant Upshaw, you have a huge brotherhood to fall back on to help you get through your injuries, whether they be physical, emotional, mental or invisible. What I ask that you do is to not only fall back on us when you need, but also be there for your new brothers to fall back onto when they need (you).”

The Warrior Transition Battalion was established in 2007 as part of the U.S. Medical Department Activity on Fort Carson. It exists to assist ill, injured and wounded Soldiers either to return to duty or their civilian lives.

“My commander at the time had a policy that you couldn’t get the Purple Heart if your injuries were not serious enough to keep you at least one night in the combat support hospital,” James Upshaw said before the ceremony. “For me, I couldn’t stand the sound of my team leader suffering just on the other side of the curtain.

“I had to get away. So I just ‘soldiered-on’ and didn’t worry about (getting a Purple Heart). My injuries weren’t as bad as the others — it wasn’t until years later that I began to realize I had signs of traumatic brain injury. I went in for tests and they showed that my brain was actually injured by the blast. When I got to the Warrior Transition Battalion, the leaders here heard about what happened and helped me get the correct paperwork filed.”

The story of James Upshaw is not unusual, according to Capt. Jason Jones, WTB assistant training and operations officer. “We want to help them in the healing process of their combat wounds. When we can, we do everything possible to assist in getting them the proper recognition for their part in the war.